Innocent
by JB3islife
Summary: It's been four years since the announcement that shocked the world occurred. Now, Nick and Maddie are preparing their wedding... separately. Maddie is forced to plan every detail of the wedding that she is dreading, while Nick goes out and lives his bachelor days to the fullest. Will Nick ever be an innocent? Maddie will only believe it when she sees it.
1. Chapter I

It's hard to believe that, four years ago, I was told I was to marry a boy I no longer knew. I say boy because he wasn't a man at the time. He was immature. He still is.

Every night he goes out and parties. Okay, not every night. Every Saturday and Sunday night, he will sit in his room, not saying a word. No sound is heard. Not a single guitar strum. It's rather depressing, actually.

Since the announcement, Nick started to change. He became more of his old self. He started to settle down and stay at home. He would bring me flowers once in a while, and say nice things to me, but we weren't really together.

Then, about a year ago, he purchased a house. Our house. After I moved in, he told me that he would be going on tour. I didn't think it was a big deal. I was glad he was returning to his musical side. However, after a few nights of sleeping in the large house by myself, I became lonely. One night, I decided to call Nick. When he answered, I was appalled.

"Hey, sexy!" a voice spoke on the other end. "Miss me? Have you seen the magazines? You finally want me, don't you?"

Oh, it was Nick alright. Drunk.

"Actually, I just wanted to tell you that my graduation is December 15. Just in case you come home sometime."

"Home? Sure, baby. I'll come home for you."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Nicholas. Goodbye."

After I hung up, I cried myself to sleep. I couldn't imagine being married to someone that went out and got drunk. It was disgusting. I thought about how I really felt, though. I knew I was falling for Nick when he brought me flowers and said sweet things. I never even bothered to get close to any guy because I knew it would be worthless. But, after that night, my feelings went down hill.

Nick's still away on tour. I've seen him everywhere, just not here. He's on magazine covers, his album cover, pictures in his mother's house. He. Is. Everywhere. Except where I want him to be.

I don't like him. I just want him to be there at my graduation, so his mother, and mine, will leave me alone. Besides, it'll look bad if his fans find out that he wasn't at his own fiancé's graduation, right?


	2. Chapter II

"Maddie, you need to start doing more for this wedding," my mom stated at lunch.

"Mom, I'll get to it when I have time. Do you know what going to college feels like?" I asked, throwing Dasher a french fry.

"I know, but you can't keep Nick waiting."

That's the line that drives me insane. How the hell is he 'waiting'? I've been in that big house for a few months by myself. I haven't heard from Nick since his drunk incident. Maybe he was just too embarrassed to talk to me. Maybe he'll never come back and he will have to keep paying for me to live in that big house. That sounds great.

"I have fantastic news!" Denise's voice sung, breaking my wonderful thoughts. "Nick is coming home in two days!"

"Strike me dead," I whispered under my breath.

"What was that, sweetie?" Mom asked.

"I said, 'I'm so glad!'" Barf in my mouth.

"I'm so excited!" Denise squealed. "I'm throwing him a party again. I can't wait to see my baby! Maybe he will help you make some wedding decisions, Maddie!"

"Yeah, that would be great," I fake smiled. "Well, I better try cleaning up a bit then before he gets home, if that's okay with you all."

"Sure, sweetie," Mom said.

"You're already making a good wife, sweetheart," Denise stated.

I thanked her as they left me to clean as I requested.

* * *

I awoke the next morning around six in the morning to noises down stairs. It sounded like someone was walking around on the wooden floor.

I slowly got out of bed and grabbed a baseball bat that I kept by my bed. You know, just in case. When I was about to walk down the stairs, I heard a voice.

"How's my baby boy doing, huh?" it said.

My dachshund Dasher barked a reply. I am surprise he remembers Nick since he only saw him a handful of times.

"Shhh. You don't want to wake your mommy up."

I held my hand to my chest. He called me Dasher's mommy. Nick called me mommy. I almost felt the need to cry. Then I remembered, I was supposed to hate him.

"What the hell, Nick?" I yelled as I made my way down the steps. "You aren't supposed to be here until tomorrow. I could have killed you with this bat."

He laughed. "You can't even hit a baseball with that bat." He looked at me and smirked. I felt my heart flutter again. "I wanted to surprise you, baby," he said as he walked toward me.

"Back off, Jonas," I stated, pushing the end of the bat into his chest. "You haven't talked to me in months. If I remember correctly, you were drunk and thought that I wanted you."

"Maddie, I want to talk about that," he sighed. "I need to tell you the truth."

"About what?"

"I-I think I love you, Maddie."


	3. Chapter III

I stared at Nick blankly. "Come again?"

"I think I love you, Maddie."

"Mhm," I nodded, "that's what I thought. Come on, Dasher. Time for mommy to call the police. Someone stole your daddy's brain," I glared.

"Maddie, stop."

"Nah, I'm good. I stopped caring about you after our drunken phone conversation, buddy," I lied.

"Maddie, just sit down and talk to me," Nick begged, grabbing my hand.

"No!" I yelled, swiping my hand out of his. "I cared about you, Nicholas. I was falling for you. I missed you. That's why I called you that night. I wanted to tell you how much I missed you, and to tell you to come back home."

Nick was speechless. With his jaw agape, he stuttered unrecognizable words.

I looked down. "Can I go now, Nick? I have to get dressed. I'm supposed to meet your mom to decorate for your 'Welcome Home' party."

"Y-Yeah," he managed.

I walked up the stairs, not ready to talk about love with Nick, just yet.

* * *

"Hey, Denise," I said as I walked through her door.

"Hi, sweetie. Can you start coloring in these letters for me?"

"Sure, no problem," I answered, taking a purple pencil and shading in an 'E'.

"Sweetie, Nick called me and said that he was staying with Kevin tonight," Denise called.

"Thank goodness," I whispered, then replied to Denise, leaving out that I already saw him today.

"Hey, cutie!" Joe yelled, shaking my shoulders, causing me to mess up a bit.

"Damn it, Joseph!" I yelled back.

"There are virgin ears here!" he whispered back.

Just then, his son Hunter ran into the room.

"Aunt Maddie!" he yelled.

I scooped the three year old up in my arms, kissing his forehead. "Now you have cooties, baby boy!" I joked as he grimaced, like always. "Where's your mommy?"

"She's probably out back in Mom's strawberry patch," Joe answered.

"I asked your son, not you, Joseph. Stay with your daddy, sweetie. I need to talk to your mommy in private."

I handed Hunter to Joe and walked to the back door. I saw Kelsey sitting with a big bowl of strawberries.

"Can I have some?" I asked.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong," she stated.

I stared at her. "H-How did you know?"

"Oh, please. I've known you for, what, ten years? I know something is wrong, just by hearing your voice."

I took a deep breathe. "Nick said some things. I don't know if he meant what he said, but he told me that he loves me."

Silence filled the air. I looked up after about ten seconds. Kelsey was bewildered. She held a strawberry just inches from her lips.

"Kels? Did you hear me?"

"I-I heard. I'm just so confused."

I told her about what happened this morning. She still looked as confused as I did.

"He needs to prove that he loves you before you, you know, get together," she stated.

"I'm just scared. What if he is just saying this to get inside my head?"

"Maddie, Nick isn't the 'bad boy' that you still see him as. I know you have feelings for him, no matter how much you deny it." I smiled slightly at her. "He came to see Joe and I yesterday evening. He stayed at our house until around five this morning when he left to see you."

"Did he talk to you about me at all before you let him leave?" I asked.

"Yes. He told me he loved you."


	4. Chapter IV

p data-p-id="de308a306ff7c7a9f8909d1821d2b4ed""And you didn't question his spontaneous choice?" I yelled./p  
p data-p-id="d86cd5ca39198e55c0da491b3671f1d0""It's not spontaneous! He's been in love with you his whole life, Maddie! He just couldn't always show it," Kelsey explained./p  
p data-p-id="92aef81e1524accdc2e0343e88aff139""You're right. I mean, Kevin didn't show his love for Dani while he was famous, and Joe couldn't do it for you either. That's just illogical!"/p  
p data-p-id="e46803c3b6ec02bf24de1a4fe66bfdf7""Stop. You're frustrated. I get that. You and Nick just need to sit and talk, and soon. I really don't want this party to end as quickly, or as badly, as Nick's last 'Welcome Home' party."/p  
p data-p-id="bdc7afdfe2f2e6dc0b9558db4eb06c64"The flashback of our parents announcing mine and Nick's arranged marriage flashed through my mind. I haven't thought about that moment in such a long time. I sighed, and commended Kelsey for being right./p  
p data-p-id="09d9bf20526ac595f65a55d8547aed48""Who knows, maybe he will become romantic like his brothers," she winked./p  
p data-p-id="757ff7da6d00fb8cb9847fc333507767"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/p  
p data-p-id="af89ddeaa86bc258db95f4a4b541d701"After hours of decorating the Jonas house, I decided to go home. As I drove, I thought about what Kelsey had said. Nick and I really do need to talk. If we don't, I may live the rest of my life miserably./p  
p data-p-id="c118bd57200520db1d60a3c6ad3cc788"As I pulled in the driveway, I saw Dasher running around outside. No big deal, my brother is probably home from college and decided to come over. Dasher ran to me as I stepped onto the rocky driveway. Picking him up, I noticed a piece of rolled paper tied to his collar./p  
p data-p-id="ffc8bcc7af43f5cbfaf6196231adafa5""I know we can get higherbr /There's levels to your lovebr /And I keep on climbing up*"/p  
p data-p-id="fc113c6c45ea07707bd5a4f699a608b7"A smile spread across my face as I read the lyrics to Nick's Levels. If he is willing to try, I should allow him to talk. "Where is he, baby boy?" I asked Dasher, who responded with a lick to my nose. I returned him to his feet, and he scattered toward the house./p  
p data-p-id="56a751c60c00716f9c09219f59e244f8"As I opened the door, I smelled one of my all-time favorite smells; chocolate and peanut butter chip cookies. The smell engulfed me as I made my way to the large kitchen, which is my favorite section of the house. A plate of cookies sat on the counter. I bit into one, and the gooey warmth filled me. Another note sat beside the plate./p  
p data-p-id="4c3a1c0f5dd9350f0ccdcb2b7bdeb302""Get on my elevator, baby we're going up*"/p  
p data-p-id="e6c8cd35d4c7ad371b76bdd653395a48"Does he really expect me to fall for this? Actually, it is working extremely well. Nick knows I have a hopeless romantic nature, and this "treasure hunt" is more on the romantic side./p  
p data-p-id="84e6c5397420611ea2eb483aaf448fda"I climbed the stairs, which Nick had decorated to look like an elevator. This boy had more time on his hands than I originally thought. I reached the master bedroom with Dasher at my heels. I pressed my ear against the door. I heard Nick strumming on his acoustic guitar. As I slowly opened the door, Nick started to sing./p  
p data-p-id="68a08e0fb3888081f216f8c05dec705c""I can't get your smile out of my mindbr /I think about your eyes all the timebr /You're beautiful, but you don't even trybr /Modesty is just so hard to findbr /Now I'm speechless, over the edgebr /I'm just breathlessbr /I never thought that I'd catch this love bug againbr /Hopeless, head over heels in the momentI never thought that I'd get hit by this love bug again**"/p  
p data-p-id="336d9737c26171e0dbe8dfb57f35bf87"Hearing him sing a song written by him and his brothers bad my heart skip a beat. I smiled as I leaned against the door frame, lost in his voice./p  
p data-p-id="f25b7503e494031c737e02bcbdc7e5e3""How did that sound, Maddie?" Nick's speaking voice brought me back to earth./p  
p data-p-id="e68993c4873ec607c58d7c8f6b466deb""It was beautiful," I simply stated. There were no other words for it./p  
p data-p-id="756d0e0326ec18ff603114b0f19ba85f"Nick stood from the king-sized bed and turned toward me. I sucked in a breath. I hadn't noticed Nick was shirtless in jeans while sitting on the bed. I hate to say it, but Damn! This man looked well, but I wasn't going to fall that easily./p  
p data-p-id="87a7f5c375a09465477008450a57f47d"*Nick Jonas-Levels/p  
p data-p-id="db90358fa1dfc0496837ed210193bf9d"**Jonas Brothers- Lovebug/p 


	5. Chapter V

p data-p-id="8200bf35224c22f18490f5f084499672"I stared at Nick as he sat his guitar on its stand. I watched mesmerized as his stomach muscles caved in on themselves, then went back to their normal position as he stood. I bit my lip to avoid smirking. Nick smirked at me, however, knowing exactly what I was doing. He opened his mouth to laugh slightly as he walked over to me./p  
p data-p-id="a7ab3fac75e9a9ae33e794a8bce6d3e2""I forgot you haven't seen me in over a year," Nick grimaced as he stood about a foot away from me. "You can tell me if I look bad, you know."/p  
p data-p-id="e08b5a4c1bfe6612e338f9e53109ff9c"I finally moved my mossy green eyes from his chiseled chest to his chocolatey brown eyes. "You could look better," I joked, pushing him out of the way to lay on the bed. Dasher bounced up, laying down on my stomach./p  
p data-p-id="486963ab712e30e1c087b84ccf3ce5ec"Nick threw his head back in defeat, staring at the ceiling and shaking his head. "I knew this was going far too well," he sighed, walking over to sit beside me./p  
p data-p-id="776fdf2a4fbc2416d022044ba1a2ec52""Oh, no," I stated. "You aren't sitting beside me just yet. We are going to have a serious adult conversation about a serious adult issue, Nicholas. I know you haven't done that very much these past few years, but you will, starting now."/p  
p data-p-id="8be277d0c03c3bd274d5a384c43ad8d5"He sighed again, moving to the foot of the bed. He gave me a look as if to ask, "Far enough?" I nodded in confirmation, sighing again. I was not sure where to start, so Nick did it for me./p  
p data-p-id="a08350b30b567f4679e4c3e93317b6ca""How about I tell you everything that has happened since I left a year ago?"/p  
p data-p-id="58a3b1e6231a18ceff9435a458fdd3da"I contemplated the offer, not sure if I really wanted to hear if any of the rumors were true. Against my better judgement, I nodded in agreement./p  
p data-p-id="ce5b5dc1ab2a44760aec6c59ba485eaa""Before we begin, you have to promise to let me finish before hitting me, got it?" he asked. Again, I nodded. "Also, you need to stop biting your lip," he smirked. I hadn't even noticed it before./p  
p data-p-id="816b00a92674bdf56fabd7b49a4d0725""Why? Is it a turn on for you?" I joked./p  
p data-p-id="ef1630d3d973f9d4546dfbac8172752b"He gave me a look, then turned his head away laughing. "When you do it, yeah," he stated simply, causing blood to rush to my cheeks. "Let's get serious, though, okay?" he asked, patting my leg. I sighed, lifting my chin to signal him to begin./p  
p data-p-id="4900100317ce8787770f6e5080a61850"He sucked in a breath. "After my drunken conversation with you last November, I woke up next to a model."/p  
p data-p-id="df8cd378fa26e0e38261b21cbe327670"My breath caught in my chest. Nick looked up when I hadn't reacted. "It's not like that, though, Maddie," he clarified. "She assured me we did nothing. Apparently, she was there when I said those stupid things to you. After you hung up on me, she said I walked out of the party and ended up laying in a pile of trash."/p  
p data-p-id="783a8dabcb4c2fb0177092ed883a9577"I laughed slightly, and so did Nick. "Anyway, she took me to her place and made sure I didn't vomit myself to death. When she told me what happened, I felt terrible. I wanted to call you back right away, but I knew that wouldn't make up for the way I acted. So, I looked on your school's website for your graduation date, since I didn't remember, obviously. I was there Maddie." I stared at him. "I had to disguise myself a bit to not make a scene since the press was there to cover your story, bu-"/p  
p data-p-id="3cf1ba01d875cb8339695b9e8f33d66b""What story?" I asked, confused. I had not taken the proper precautions to hide from the media since Nick left./p  
p data-p-id="ccd1a8211e77ee5ba9b97d6e009b486f"Nick rose from the bed and moved to the walk-in closet. When he returned, he had a magazine in his hands. He sat back on his imprint on the bed, sighing as he stared at the cover. He reluctantly handed me the thin material. The corner of the magazine showed a picture of me receiving my diploma in a small circle. The title under it read, "Graduating Without Her Jonas (Page 32)." I flipped to page 32./p  
p data-p-id="2ea26ea077b7b080f5ccd0ce01769503""Please, not now, Maddie," Nick begged, but it was too late./p  
p data-p-id="d7b3821ff2e3c335bd262323cc9bc0f8"Inside, a picture of myself with my family and the Jonas family, except Nick, stared back at me. I read the subtitle out loud. "'Nick Jonas does not attend his fiancé Maddie Uhler's graduation. Maybe she won't attend their wedding.' What kind of shit is this?" I yelled./p  
p data-p-id="f90d61c596adc5eef5f0fa72f803d562""It's just stupid tabloids, Maddie," Nick calmly stated. "Can we get back to the real conversation?" He held out a hand for the magazine, which I handed him./p  
p data-p-id="f726bab2f1c15e55864a5c6de27782ac""Anyway, I was there. I didn't have the best view, but I saw you graduate. I can't tell you how proud I am, Maddie," he smiled, touching my shin, making me smile. I mouthed, "Thank you." Nick nodded. "I'm so glad you fulfilled your childhood dreams. You'll make such a huge difference to so many children, and a great mother to your children."/p  
p data-p-id="94b1a696d8df2b0aaaba2604edd51c5c"I cocked my head to the side. "What do you mean? Won't they be our children?" I laughed slightly, trying to hide my pain./p  
p data-p-id="9caefce23cc3564860c64a4469357774"Nick sucked in another breath. This one much deeper. "I talked to an attorney. He found some loopholes in the arrangement." I stared at him, my eyes boring holes through his angelic face. "Maddie, if you do not want to marry me, you don't need to."/p  
p data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p 


End file.
